Mawgan-in-Pydar Primary School

Class 3

Mrs Christie Ley

Class Teacher

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Mrs Hayley Christopher

Class Teacher

Thursday, Friday

Mrs Nicola Wills

Teaching Assistant

WELCOME TO CLASS 3

Class 3 consists of Year 3 and 4 children.

Our aim is to ensure that every child feels that they are part of a caring class. A class in which they feel confident enough to try new things without fear of failure. A class in which everybody has something to offer. Our aspiration is that the children in Class 3 will become self-motivated learners through a varied and exciting curriculum. Parents are always welcome in Class 3, whether to discuss their child's progress or to help on educational visits. We want Class 3 children to enjoy school and to look forward to the opportunities each new day offers.

Key Timings:

PE afternoon is Monday – please ensure your child comes into school in their PE kit and it is clearly labelled.
Please can water bottles be clearly labelled and brought to school every day.
Please label all clothing clearly.
Homework – please read regularly with your child and record this in the reading records.
Spellings this year will take a slightly different approach: Issued on Mondays and practised daily, every morning, in school. There will not be a formal weekly spelling test, but spellings will be assessed periodically to monitor their progress. Practising both the spellings and the handwriting as part of your homework will be beneficial, but is not obligatory.

Times Table Rock Stars - Practised every morning during registration. Learning times table facts is vital and children should be able to recite their table facts up to 12 x 12 by the end of Year 4. Therefore, it is really important that whenever you get a few minutes you keep encouraging them to revisit these so they can automatically recall the facts without having to use fingers or apparatus. The more your child practises, the easier they will find calculations at school and out in the real world.

English and SPaG

Our first half term will be looking in depth at understanding the grammar word classes and punctuation that are instrumental in creating effective sentences. This new initiative will be threaded throughout all our year groups at Mawgan in Pydar, so that the skills required to write effectively become second nature to the children. Towards the end of the term, the children will use these skills to create a non-fiction piece of writing. Along with focusing on grammar, spelling, handwriting and reading skills, the second half of the term will look at different text types; non-chronological report and poetry. We will be continuing to use a Talk for Writing approach to our learning which has three main stages to it: imitation, innovation and finally independence. Much of our writing will be cross curricular and we will be continuing to transfer skills learnt in English, to other curriculum areas. Spellings this year will take a slightly different approach: All spellings will be investigated and practised in school time and Years 3 and 4 will be having the same spellings as set out in the National Curriculum.

Class Novel – Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll. When Lilian Kaye finds a parcel on her grandad's doorstep, she is shocked to see who sent it: a famous Egyptologist, found dead that very morning, according to every newspaper in England! The mysterious package holds the key to a story . . . about a king whose tomb archaeologists are desperately hunting for. Lil and her friends must embark on an incredible journey - to return the package to its resting place, to protect those they love, and to break the deadly pharaoh's curse . . .

Maths

We will follow the White Rose Year 3/4 units for learning in this subject. In the autumn term we will be focussing on Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division and then Area.

Science

Our unit this half term is called ‘Living things and their habitats.’ During this unit of work, children will learn to recognise the seven life processes common to all living things. They will learn to sort living things using a variety of criteria and extend their use of scientific vocabulary to describe features and characteristics of animals and plants. They will conduct a local habitat search and learn to identify unknown living things using a classification key. Children will consider how environmental change impacts the local area and suggest ways in which humans can prevent further damage.

In Autumn 2 will we explore ‘Animals including Humans’. During this unit of work, children will learn about the importance of the digestive system. They will learn the names and functions of each part of the system and be able to identify the different types of teeth in humans and their purpose. The children will plan and conduct an investigation to answer the question: which drink causes the most tooth decay? They will extend their knowledge of food chains by constructing and interpreting a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.

Art and Design & Design Technology

This term we are exploring patterns in Art, and completing a ‘Tomb builders’ unit in Design Technology where we will explore pullies and leavers.

Music

We will learn songs across the school during our music assemblies to perform at our local Harvest Festival. In Autumn 2, we will be following the Sing Up unit ‘Favourite Song’. This is a fast, folk-rock style unit, reminiscent of Mumford and sons. During this unit, the class will learn to sing and play the unit song, develop technical skills on tuned percussion and experience playing in a class band. They will listen to a range of music in folk and folk – rock style, comparing and contrasting different artists’ styles.

History

Ancient Egypt: In this unit, children learn about how early civilisation started within Egypt. They shall discover how the upper and lower kingdoms joined together to create the Ancient Egypt of the Old Kingdom. The children will compare the Egyptian time period to Neolithic in Britain, to find out what was happening at the same time and how these two civilisations compared. The children will then discover all about the Egyptian gods, what Ancient Egyptians believed about the afterlife, how the pyramids were built and who the greatest pharaoh was in all of Egypt’s history.

Geography

Land Use: In this unit, children will learn about the places around them and begin looking for land use patterns. Using a case study of a fictional town to provide context, children will investigate their local area, focusing on its facilities and transport links and how they might be changing. Children will learn different ways of presenting, analysing and evaluating the data collected about their locality.

Computing

ICT will be used throughout all the other subject areas to enhance the children's understanding and for research purposes. Children will be encouraged to use ICT as a tool for furthering their understanding in other curriculum areas. Throughout the term there will be an emphasis on keeping ourselves safe online. In addition to this, we are following the ‘Digital Learning Cornwall’ units for Years 3 and 4. For Year 3’s we will be using Book Creator and then move onto learn about ‘Branching Databases.’ For Year 4 the units will cover ‘Connecting computers and ‘Animation’.

This term we are exploring the question ‘What do Hindus believe God is like?’ We will also attend our local Harvest festival service and recognise that Harvest Festival is a time for Christians to say ‘Thank You’ to God. During Autumn 2, we will also explore ‘What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today?’.

French

This term in French we will following ‘Getting to know you’ and ‘All about me’ units.

The first half term will have a sport focus on Multi skills and Invasion Games, a fitness focus called Boot Camp, and a health focus called Healthy Body: Inside Out. The second half term will have a sport focus of Dance, a fitness focus of Mighty Movers, and a health focus on ‘Healthy Mind’. There will be opportunities for children to participate in extracurricular clubs and sporting events and festivals as part of our links with the Newquay Schools sports partnership.

This Year, PE will be on a Monday so children can come dressed appropriately in school PE kit on this day. There may of course, be additional days when the children may be required to wear a PE kit, which they will be clearly informed about.

PSHE

We will follow a structured plan for both Year 3 and Year 4 from the SCARF units for PSHE. In the autumn term we will cover the unit ‘Me and my Relationships’ which addresses feelings, emotions, conflict resolution and friendship. We will then move onto ‘Valuing Difference’ which includes a British Values focus. These themes will be revisited through our assemblies during the term also.